The cloth he’d been using slipped through his fingers, as jagged ice bergs of stunned confusion, and bewilderment sliced through his mind. Stunned into absolute stillness, he breathlessly stared at her, unable to force a single word out of his throat. Then, another feeling overwhelmed his senses, a feeling he had so dearly missed over the past few years: Allison’s smooth, warm hand on his face.

“Don’t worry…” she whispered, a short step bringing her closer to him. “You’re not seeing things. I’m real.”

“It can’t be…” a whisper of disbelief escaped him, as he shook his head from side to side. “I saw you die. I buried you.”

“It’s a long, complicated story my love.” Allison replied, her voice sweet as she caressed his cheek.

“That’s right,” a male voice agreed as it now filled the bar. It sounded familiar; yet, in his confusion, Jake could not remember who it belonged to. Slowly, the stranger joined them. His stocky build and his large-frame glasses left no doubt as to his identity. It was Dr. Michael Jensen, the man who had confirmed Allison’s death. “Take a seat, Jake. This could take a while.”

Jake obliged, disbelief still written all over his face, as Jensen seated himself across from him.

“Now…” The doctor started, sucking in a deep breath, “three years ago, the Secretary of Defense came up with this…” he faltered, “wild idea of a disgruntled marine, willing to join ISIS. She’d pretend to hate the US, give them – fake – secrets and gain access to theirs. Safe houses, weapons storage, targets, you name it. There were many volunteers. He chose Allison. You had to believe she was dead. I’m sorry.”

“You volunteered?” Jake inquired, turning his attention to her. “And you didn’t tell me anything? How did you pull that off anyway?”

“Because I knew you’d try to talk me out of it,” she explained. “It was pretty hard. After my folks identified my body, there was a body swap. You buried someone else, not me.”

“It was top secret,” Jensen spoke in a firm tone. “She couldn’t tell you. Anyway, the plan worked just fine, until a couple of months ago. They started to suspect her, kept asking her if she’d been talking to anyone at home.”

“I denied everything of course,” Allison stated. “Those sons of bitches are smart, though. They put truth serum in my food. I told them everything. I barely made it out of that hellhole.”

“You played me: you…” Jake returned his gaze to Jensen, his breath heavy as he grabbed the edges of the table; “him.” With a violent, upward push, he flipped it over. Glasses were shattered, as he jumped from his seat, clenching his fists. Throwing his arm, Jake rotated it in midair. A tremendous blow to Jensen’s jaw sent his body ten feet across the bar and to the left. He landed on top of another table, and then rolled off, groaning in pain. Jake hurtled towards him, sensing his blood boiling in his veins, and pounding in his temples. He dropped to his knees beside him, before grabbing him by the collar of his coat.

“Three fucking years:” he snarled, pulling him closer. “Three years believing a lie.” The next punch in the doctor’s eye threw his head back. Fuming in rage, Jake clenched his fist yet again, before hearing Allison’s high pitched voice.

“Jake, please!” She cried. “Please, stop; you’re killing…”

“Shut up!” He roared in rage and pain, looking up at her over his right shoulder. “Screw this…” He grumbled, rising to his 6’2”, imposing stature. Then, Jake grabbed Jensen by the wrist. Dragging him across the floor, he finally stood him up at the front door. He kicked it open, while blood dripped down the doctor’s cheek, and he moaned in pain.

“Listen up, you prick.” He groaned, staring down into his terrified eyes. “If I ever, ever see you again, I swear to God, I’m going to beat you up so bad you’ll wish you’d never been born.”

“I’m really sorry for all this,” Allison interjected, her voice broken as she moved around him. “I was just following orders.”

“What do you –” Jake started to ask, squinting at her, his chest rising up and down; he tried again; “Orders – is that what you’ve been telling yourself all this time? You lied to me. You led me to believe you were dead. And I…” He dropped his gaze from her, breathing even faster as he ran his hands through his hair. Jake sensed tears rising up in his eyes, as Allison cupped his cheek.

“I can’t imagine the pain you’re in right now, baby,” she whispered, blinking back tears. “Leaving you behind was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

“Allie…” he croaked, as two tears rolled down his face, “get out of here. Don’t come back.”

“Jake, ple…”

“Don’t!” he warned, as his mouth trembled and his gaze shot up to meet hers. “How could you do this to me?”

At a loss for words, she dragged her gaze away from him and dropped her arm. Allison covered her mouth with her hand, squeezing tears out of her eyes. Jake could not stay there any longer. He brushed past her and went back in his bar, trying hard to wrap his head around what had just transpired. By then, he was dying to share this with a familiar face and yet, Holly was not there. He checked the bathroom, but she was not there, either. Still shaking and disgusted by Allison’s lie, he went to the parking lot out back. Incredibly enough, Holly was there, but she didn’t resemble the smiling, happy brunette who had barged into the bar, just minutes earlier. She had her head leaning against the steering wheel of her car, crying so hard that her body shook. Jake opened the driver’s door, but she didn’t stop. Too upset to speak, he wrapped his fingers around her forearm and tried to pull her out of the car.

“I saw the whole thing,” she sniffled. “Go to her.”

“I don’t think so,” he said in a commanding tone. “She’s gone.”

“She’s what?” Holly responded in confusion as she slowly looked up at him.

“Gone,” Jake reiterated, using an emphatic tone. “Please, get out of the car.”

“What do you mean ‘gone’?” she inquired while stepping outside.

“She’s dead to me.” He heaved a long, deep sigh.

“Wait a minute.” Holly raised her hand to her face. “You just found that the love of your life, the woman I saw you cry for the other day is still alive and you’re saying she’s dead to you?”

“The love of my life:” Jake gave a snort of derision. “She faked her death. She went on an undercover mission, without telling me anything. What would you do if you were me? Pretend like it never happened and take her back?”

“I don’t know, Jake,” she shrugged. “But, if you did want to get back together with her, I’d understand. I’d hate it, but I’d understand.”

“Why were you crying, Holly?” He leaned forward, intensifying his stare. “We’ve only been on one date.”

His question put her in a difficult position. She squeezed her lips, rolling her gaze down his body.

“I thought you were smart,” Holly muttered. “Think about how long I’ve been flirting with you, the things I’ve said to you … I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

“I can’t think right now,” Jake confessed with a hint of frustration in his voice. “Enlighten me.”

“I’ve been flirting with you since June.” Her voice dropped down an octave. “I haven’t dated anybody for almost a year. A couple of days ago, I asked you not to say ‘goodnight’ again and last night I mentioned having ‘very naughty dreams about us’. Do I have to say the words?”

The realization hit Jake like a wrecking ball. The thought of her being in love with him had not even crossed his mind. He always believed that Holly had been flirting with him just because she liked to tease him.

“No.” He whispered, staring into the void. “You don’t.”

“Now you understand why I want to kiss you in public?” She asked in a husky voice as she circled her arms around his neck.

“Why?”

“Because I want to show everyone in this place how happy I am,” Holly maintained, gazing deep into his eyes. “Plus, I want all those…” she paused, “bitches to keep their hands off my man.”

A big smile spread across his face, upon hearing her words.

“So I’m your man, huh?” Jake laughed.

“Yes, sir,” she affirmed. “Now, I’d really love to take you home and do all kinds of naughty things to you, but you look exhausted. Go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I could use some company.” He spoke in his baritone, burying his forehead into hers.

“Bad idea;” Holly whispered. “I don’t know if I can restrain myself.”

“Have you no control, woman?” Jake teased with his smile widening as he put his hands on her hips.

“Not when it comes to you,” she said with a grin. “Here’s a thought. Why don’t you spend the night in my place? I work the second shift tomorrow. We’ll get to spend the morning together.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He winked at her. “Let’s go.”